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"I saw him play a little vicious," Ohio State right tackle Reid Fragel said. "The way he blocked there was kind of a mean streak to him, and that was cool to see."

"From last year, he is so much more of a physical player," said OSU center Corey Linsley, who lines up on the other side of Hall. "He was bench-pressing guys off of him. You would never have seen that before this year. He's always had really quick feet, but now he's doing his best to pancake guys, and it's been amazing to watch Marcus progress."

So the fourth-year Buckeye junior and Glenville High grad is getting after it right when the Buckeyes (4-0) need it, as they prepare to face Michigan State (3-1) in the Big Ten opener on Saturday. The Spartans feature the best defensive line the Buckeyes will face in the Big Ten.

Two years ago, Hall also attacked. Not on the field, but to save his football career.

After getting playing time as a freshman in 2009, Hall took a redshirt season in 2010 in order to get his academic work in order. It was an unusual step, a player's classroom shortcomings forcing a public admission that he needed to get away from the game. Hall released a statement at the time that he was trying to take the move in a positive way to "be better prepared all-around for the rest of my time at Ohio State."

Two years later, he admits he dropped his football career to save his football career.

"Man, I was so worried about my career," Hall said recently. "To tell you the truth, that was my main focus, my career. That's why I had to get back in the classroom, and the coaches here helped me focus and get everything back on track."

Hall also said the guidance of his coach at Glenville, Ted Ginn Sr., helped him find his way.

"He used to talk about how he missed playing football," said Christian Bryant, Hall's teammate at Glenville and Ohio State, "and everything he did was beneficial for him not taking football for granted."

And now Hall has simple advice for any high school athlete headed to college.

"You've got to be in that classroom and take it seriously," Hall said. "It doesn't matter how good you are, if you mess up there, you won't be out on the field."

The list of college players who blew their athletic careers because they couldn't do what was needed in the classroom is a long one. There have also been several turnaround stories of Buckeyes who have refocused their game under Urban Meyer's new coaching staff.

But Hall, a 6-foot-5, 315-pounder who dropped about 10 pounds from last year, got going before the new guys arrived. And he prevented himself from falling into the same pile of players who had the athletic ability but never gave themselves the chance to use it.

"I feel like he's changed completely as a person and a player," said OSU senior Etienne Sabino, who also took a redshirt season in the middle of his career, though that was for reasons of playing time. "I think he's very committed to this program and doing everything that's asked of him."

Now Hall can just worry about blocking. Fragel is coming off what Meyer said is the best game of his short career as a right tackle. The ability for a guard and tackle to work in tandem is always talked about, and Fragel said, "we did a good job communicating on the double teams last week."

As for Hall, "he's getting better," Meyer said. "I don't think he's anywhere near his potential yet. But he's a much better player than he was in the spring. Someone asked me the other day, 'Are you better than you were in Week One?' Of course we are. There are certain players who are better, and he's one of them."

The Buckeyes need Hall to be better than ever on Saturday. At the very least, Hall is making sure to give himself that chance.

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